Big name missing from final lineup of Dew Tour athletes

Rachael Pacella, Special to The Baltimore Sun

The Dew Tour has announced the list of confirmed competitors for August's Pantech Beach Championships, just 15 days away. The list has some major names, unfortunately one is missing: Shaun White won't be competing this year due to a knee surgery, but still plans to be in O.C. to show his support for fellow athletes.

White, 25, was recently seen at the Summer Games in London, where he was pitching for skateboarding to become an Olympic sport.

"I've heard talk about 2016 in Brazil maybe getting skateboarding, for me that would be like the ultimate to compete Winter and Summer," White, an Olympic medalist for snowboarding, told Reuters. "The only thing I could relate it to would be the Summer and Winter X-Games, I compete in both of those and have medals in both.

The list of skaters scheduled to compete includes Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Mitchie Brusco, Sandro Dias, Elliott Sloan, Pedro Barros, Bob Burnquist and Baltimore native Bucky Lasek, who has said he is excited to return home to compete. Tom Schaar, a 12-year-old from California who was the first person to land a 1080, a three-rotation aerial maneuver described as the "holy grail" of skateboarding, will also be competing.

The Pantech Beach Championships will also feature a special event, the Skate Legends Bowl. Skateboarding pioneers Steve Alba, Chris Miller, Steve Caballero, Christian Hosoi and Lance Mountain will be competing in the Skate Legends Bowl. These people are known for shaping the face of modern skateboarding.

The big names in BMX at the competition will be Steve McCann, Chad Kagy and Jamie Bestwick. 2011 Dew Cup winner Scotty Cranmer will also be competing.

For more information on the competition, go to http://www.allisports.com/dew-tour/event/ocean-city-2012.